In the depths of the Leafs darkest years during the plague-like Harold Ballard era, they never missed the playoffs three years in a row. No, you have to go back to the 1927-28 season to find the last time the Leafs missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Thursday night in Boston, the Leafs were mathematically eliminated from the post-season when they were beaten 4-2 by the Bruins.
So much has changed in the world since the Leafs made the playoffs in the spring of 2004. What hasn't changed is the urgent need for the Leafs to go out and hire a world class general manager. Not a rookie. Not a friend of a friend. I'm talking about a general manager that has been there, done that.
In the latest edition of The Hockey News, Ken Campbell breaks down the 30 best GMs in the NHL. It's pretty hard to argue with any of his choices. Right there at No. 1 is none other than Brian Burke.
There's no salary cap on GMs in the NHL. If Burke wants $5 million a year to come to Toronto then give it to him. If Burke wants complete and total authority to do whatever he wants and whenever he wants to do it -- then give it to him.
Love them or hate them, the Leafs are a heritage franchise in the NHL. There's no acceptable excuse for a team like the Leafs to miss the playoffs three years in a row. The year after the first time the Leafs missed the playoffs three years in a row, the Great Depression hit the world.
One look at Paul Maurice's face after Thursday's loss in Boston will tell you the Great Depression of Leafs Nation has hit with full force.
One complaint about Burke...his hiring of coaches might be suspect. Mark Crow wasn't the greatest coach (unless you were one of his faves like Naslund or Big Burt).Crow's handling of the Sedins was pathetic at best.
Just hope WHEN the new GM takes his place he fires Paul Mo first thing. Then trades, releases or sends Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina to the furthest regions of the minor leagues. Those guys simply stole money from the owners this season.
I'm not sure how much plainer Burke can say this...he is happy in Anaheim, he doesn't want to leave Anaheim...why assume that every GM wants to uproot their's and their families' lives to come to Toronto and have to ask Peddie's permission to even get a new desk chair and then have the media and 5000000000 fans analyze the new desk chair Ad nauseam. A new GM is the answer, but it isn't going to be Burke, thats for sure.
Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment should be ashamed of where this franchise has gone. Is it any wonder that even with the stability that JFJ's firing brought the team played better? He should have been supported or fired when trouble started instead of the gongshow we fans had to witness. Shareholders names should be published so we can thank the people who's pockets we've lined with our undying support in the last 3, no 40 years.
Sell the team to someone who cares, and wants to win...regardless of the cost.
love it, love it, love it, love it!!!! did i mention i love this? screw this notion about heritage. just because they are an original 6 team does NOT give them a free pass to the playoffs. If i was a Leafs fan i will BOO Sundin, McCabe, Tucker, and whoever did not waive their no trade clause.
The Leafs deserve another 40 years of drought. freaking love it.
The problem is, no good GM wants to be part of the Leafs. The ownership never wants to give complete control to the GM because they don't trust anyone. After the Leafs turned down Bowman, the Leafs are doomed.
This pleases me. Hahahahaha
Fans out east need to have patience and allow the Gm to build for the future. When K-Lowe announced that he was building for the future a number of months ago, there were alot of people in Edmonton who could not accept. I now wonder how many people in toronto would rather have a team that looks like the Oilers and probably miss the playoffs for this year, and maybe next, but have all of this youing talent who are starting to learn to play together. Our best player is 24 (Hemsky). Here some numbers to crunch: M Greene 24, Smid 22, Nilsson 23, Cogs 20, Torres 26, Stoll 25, Pitkanen 24, Penner 25, Grebeshkov 24, Gilbert 25, Gagner 18, the 4th line is Stortini 22, Brodziak 23, glencross 25.
My point is: Whoever you get as GM should be allowed the freedom from the fans and owners to build the team is his vision, even if you have to accept some losing along the way, You never know, winning may happen sooner then you think
Guess what, the rest of the country has moved on from the Leafs.
Next.
I know this article is more about the leafs, but I have a problem with Brian Burke being considered the best in the league. In reality, Brian Murray put a lot of that team Anaheim team together, while Burke basically made some high-priced moves to finish it off. I haven't seen the list, and I'm sure they're right up there, but I'd argue that Ken Holland and Brian Murray are better GMs than Burke. As far as the leafs go...the games are still sold out, so who cares, right?
It doesn't matter who the leafs hire for the GM position. The leafs dilema will remain the same until the teachers union is gone. Until then get used to missing the playoffs. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment abandoned the fans a long time ago, I say it's high time we return the favour. See how many changes will take place when the seats start to empty. Nice thought but I know it will never happen.
WOW you can really tell who the Sens and Habs fans are from reading the comments but hears the thing Leaf fans out number you ten to one so your opinons don't matter... Any way about the Leafs...I think that they should do what other successful teams in the NHL have done... get 2 GM's one a business man and the other a hockey player(a former leaf)like Gilmore or Clarkey that way you get the best of both worlds with the business aspect covered but you also have the hockey smart person helping out and thinking about the hockey aspect of things which a lot of GM's don't do because they are to obsessed with making money. That is what the Leafs need to do to be successful.
Joe190375...Don't boo Sundin, Tucker, and McCabe for not waiving their no-trade clause, not only did they want to stay there, it's kind of a hassle to potentially move to the other side of the continent in the middle of the season. Blame the GM who gave them those no trade clauses, traded Rask for a sub-par goaltender, signed injury-prone players repeadtedly...I think this is the first year Antropov wasn't hurt for more than 15 games.
Exactly what succesful teams are wmploying this "2 GM" strategy that you talk about. Do you really think Brett Hull or Steve Yzerman are making decisions. I can only assume those are the 2 franchises you are thinking about. If you Leaf fans want Doug Gilmour running your franchise, go ahead. The rest of us who love watching the Leafs be a non factor will have another ten years to enjoy.
Even with a new GM and a different relationship with MLSE a new GM is doomed to failure with the Leafs... and the reason is present in your BLOG. "There's no acceptable excuse for a team like the Leafs to miss the playoffs three years in a row." That mentality will require a new GM to go out and repeat the mistakes of the past by bringing in aging vets who are little more than mercenaries with no attachment to the franchise. Building will take time; it isn't as though the Leafs have a farm system stocked with young talent. Want a contender? It will take 2-3 years of losing to build your young talent through the draft. The problem is, Leaf fans will run a GM out of town long before that is allowed to happen.
I'll never get tired of laughing at Leaf fans who want 'Dougie' or 'Clarky' as their next GM.
Guess what sportschic- your team doesn't matter.
It's funny that all the leaf bashers hardly ever announce which team they cheer for. Why is that? Lack of pride in your team? or are you just hoping that you will not be open to critisims yourself. I know a lot of people from Toronto including me that would love the leafs to start a rebuilding process.
THN and specifically the GM list you noted are absolutele jokes. Lose some respect for ya here Jim using it. Burke at #1 is case in point. Waiving Bryzgalov is probably the worst move made this year in the league. He took Bryan Murray's team and added Pronger by fleecing Lowe. Luck's been his biggest asset, having Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne want to join your team are intangibles no other GM had the luxury of. BTW Holland is the obvious #1, and no one else is even close.
Go Leafs Go, Go Leafs Go....hahahahahaha
I have to agree with several of the posts..I'm no fan of Brian Burke. He's build some good teams, but the man himself is such a loathesome character that I would rather lose than win with him at the helm. Whomever the braintrust in the front offices decide to hire, unless they leave him alone to do his job, it's pointless anyway. Too many cooks have spoiled this broth for years, it's time to throw all but one out of the kitchen and start building this team up from scratch. Holland would be a terrific man for the job if you could pry him away from Detroit.
And for what it's worth, I repect the players who refused to waive their no-trade clauses. It's their right and they used it the way they wanted to.
Thanks to the Muskoka 5 this team is years behind where they would have been if they would have done the right thing at trade deadline.
This off season the Leafs management should use every option that have to rid themselves of ALL 5 of these cancers. Sundin has worn out his welcome in T.O and he needs to retire, if not the Leafs should tell him thanks but no thanks.
it's time the Leafs when in a new direction with new leadership, Sundin did very little to help this team to a new level.
Why is it that even when the leafs are out of a playoff spot, with plenty of other stories to cover, that the Canadian Media still has to talk about the leafs. Its okay for leaf fans to keep talking about them but the media needs to realize that there are plenty of other sports stories. Two Canadian media there are only two sports seasons, Leafs season and leafs rebuilding season
I know who cares... all the advertisers who haven't got me as a target. stop watching television and watch how fast people take notice. Stop supporting the teachers fund by not supporting the advertisers. watch how fast things will change. Paul Maurice should go back to the minors where he belongs. When you say "I don't know", you are in the wrong job buddy! The baseball players held me for ransom once... I haven't watched a game since. The NHL is next, black me out, No No No, black YOU out NHL
It's simple: GET RID OF PEDDIE!
Seriously, we as fans should just boycott the Leafs for a couple of years. Quit paying outrages tickets prices.....stop buying Leafs merchandise...ie, jerseys, flags, shirts, all things that the Pensioners make money from. Can't even imagine the ACC half empty, but give them a reason and courage to hire GOOD hockey men....we COULD of had Gretzky....we COULD of had Bowman...shoulda, woulda, coulda....but because the machine that runs the show, we didna! 3 years out of the playoffs...tearing the team apart...Leaf nation in an uproar, fighting amongst each other...everything with this team is hearsay and it's all we can do but to dream of something better no matter how silly our ideas. It's all us fans who are to blame for keeping the monster at the top of the Leafs food chain fat and content, and unwilling to change.
Isn't this the same feeling we have every year since '67? Upset and excited about next year? (especially the slump in the 80's)
The floaters and lackluster players always come back.
They draft Guys like Suglobov who disappears, or that one Zednik kid years ago. Or they trade potential for anyone past his prime, and one year away from being a used car salesman. (Immense upside yes, but where are they now draft picks)
Allison, Lindros, Blake, Lumme, Peca...signed as free agents...'nuff said.
GM, Richard Peddie might as well do it. Save the Pension some money that way, Gawd forbid they lose more of it by not making the playoffs, AGAIN!
Might as well Bring back Tom Watt or Doug Carpenter to coach, they have had many 'almost made it, but missed the playoffs anyway' seasons. Garry Lariviere as an asst. and Floyd Smith Asst. also.
Yes I sit and wait and see what happens each and every summer. Deadlines come and go, training camp starts, 2-3 wins out of the first 10 games into the regular season, and I'm already upset, yet excited about the year after!
Number86 Suglobov was aquired via trade, Ken Klee was the man that got traded for him. As for we could have had Gretzky, why would we have wanted gretzky, what would have been the difference in hiring JFJ or gretzky still no experience, remember Gretzky's on ice experience is has nothing to do with being a gm or head coach. The leafs need someone who is proven and has the experience needed and they need full control of operations not just listening to pettie, But that is never gonna happen in toronto. A group of chimpanzees could run the hockey club better than the teachers union.
the leafs need to start from scratch...
this summer start with trading kubina while they can then buy out tucker (who will then have to retire because nobody else would want him)then if they can't get anything for raycroft let him go through wavors and let pogge come up to play in a backup role and learn from vesa and finally im afraid to say it but this may be the last season we see sundin play in a leaf uniform because i think the only way he'll sign is if he gets a no trade clause and i don't see fletcher doing it unless he takes quite the pay cut which i also don't see happening so he just might retire
so with all of that they would clear up all sorts of cap room and instead of getting stupid and going out and overpaying some guy whos best years are behind him they should just bring all of these young guys(earl, tlusty, williams, moore, etc.) up and let them play all year get some experience and get a good draft pick because next year is apparently a deep draft year
if the leafs ever want to win a cup their going to have to start going about things in the right way finally and stop overpaying subpar players just because they have one good year or the fans like him cough tucker cough
oh and get rid of colaiacovo... sure he's good when he's there but when is he ever there?
Point was Leafbums, we get players, either through trades...draft..out of the hospital...off the street...from the Timbits minor hockey program, and they never pan out. A few guys even won the Cup after they left Toronto. Just bad decisions by bad hockey people, and you're right, we need a proven winner.
As for Gretz. I meant when he was still a threat as a player, though, I highly doubt he would have helped as a player much anyways(they wouldn't have given him anyone to pass to), but the mere presence of the Great-One in Leaf blue, would have been pretty cool. I know it was 'supposed' to happen, but never did. Unless of course, it was all the hearsay at the time.
i agree with leafbums
look at when gretzky was in charge of picking team canada
it was the worst team canada in decades... their world junior team would have done a better job for them that year
number86 is right. the year was 1997, we had a young sundin, who needed someone on his line. could you have imagined if they got gretzky, how much sundin would have learnt? our team would look alot different today. but thats to stevey stamos, it never happened.
correct me if im wrong here thou, but was 97 the year we got cujo or was it 98?
as for GM, i will always say, Holland is the only GM i would be interested in. burke had luck. people also seem to forget, that 2003, the ducks sucked ass (sure they flucked and made the finals in 2002 but after they were off the radar intirly), and got the second pick after sid the kid. now, if they did get that #1 pick in that draft and drafted sid, could you imagine how much more lucky he would have been? he'd look like a genius but insted, i still consider him a lucky GM. holland has drafted smart, won cups and kept his team on top for way more then a decade. the ducks have only been a threat since the new nhl has been in place.
we need to lure holland over here and all his scouts. sundin for one more year (if he wants to) and grab that really flashy sweed that everone is talking about, i think his name is brumstrum, i forget, but sundins agent represents him.
jeff carter will probablly be a leaf next year too.
heres to next year!
"look at when gretzky was in charge of picking team canada
it was the worst team canada in decades... their world junior team would have done a better job for them that year"
Which year? 2002? The year Team Canada, with Gretzky as the GM, beat the US 5-2 for the gold? Or 2006?(Sweden fluke, 'cause we all know Sundin can't win) or the years he's slowly turning the Coyote's into a contender through hard play and determination? This guy IS a bum!
Besides, he'd never leave sunny, no-media everywhere, Phoenix, Arizona for the dreariness of T.O. Not while he has a stake in that team.
Just bring up ALL the Marlies, THEY MADE THE PLAYOFFS and are doing quite well. Send the entire OVER-PAID roster, minus Kaberle and Toskala down to the farm!! PLUS get Mike Myers, the Leafs richest fan, to pool his money with other rich Leafs fans, to buy the team outright!! Like GRETZKY and John Candy did with the Argos! I forget...did THEY win at all during that time??... A movie about The Buds winning the Cup, NOW that's just more depressing.
For all of you Leaf haters complaining about how the media is still going on about the Leafs etc, do you not see that the reason the Leafs are always talked about is because so many people read about them? Look at you all...you all hate the Leafs yet you still read the stories about them and leave your comments. How can you not see this?? Its funny how you all come on here and bash the Leafs and their fans yet all you're doing is contributing to what you hate most. Are you all that ignorant that you can't see it? Especially makes me laugh seeing Canucks and Sens fans going on about how the Leafs are horrible and we always think we're going to win the cup...yet every year Vancouver and Ottawa fans say the exact same thing about their teams...with the exact same results. Get over yourselves.
razor1987: lol...funny how you seemed to forget that Gretzky also picked the team for the previous Olympics in 2002, you remember, the one that won Canada's first gold medal in decades? But you wouldn't want to include that in your argument, now would you?
leafsbum, your absolutley correct. the teachers union invested in the leafs to MAKE MONEY,they dont perticularly care if they win or not. as an oiler fan im so glad the soon to be new owner katz is a fan himself with visions of returning the franchise from medeocrity to the contenders they once were. only time will tell what will hapen to both clubs. on a side note, do you really WANT the mouth of the south burke to be the face of the leafs? NOBODY DOES!
i agree with all this "brian burke, not #1"
i also agree with all the "hire a quality GM"
But what you guys are forgetting is something simple that went wrong.
Remeber back before the lockout? JFJ was getting all of these old guys that werent free agents? Guess how he got them...trading draft picks. ON TOP of that, when he aquired the players, you wouldnt see any rookies playing for TO, all you saw was old guys. This meant that the young guys didnt develop and get the smooth stepping stone to the NHL. Guess what Toronto did with them next? yeah! he traded those young kids. Anyone remeber a kid named Rask? haha. Sucks to be leafs fan right now.
As a Sens fan, lets just hope we get INTO the playoffs before we start hoping for another cup final run.